6. economic characterisation of mountain areasec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docgener/... ·...

Mountain Areas in Europe – Final Report

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6. Economic characterisation of mountain areas The economies of Europe’s mountain areas are highly diverse at all spatial scales. While agriculture and forestry are often perceived as vital in local economies and for cultural identity, employment in other sectors is higher except in a relatively small number of municipalities. Pluriactivity is very common, at various temporal scales. For instance, an individual may work in a factory during the day and in agriculture in the evenings and weekends; or in forestry in summer and in tourism in winter. This chapter explores the economies of mountain areas from the viewpoint of employment, recognising that employment statistics are often rather simplistic and cannot show the complex reality characterising many mountain people. While it would have been desirable to address other issues, such as GDP and income, data for all the countries of the study area are not available at a level of detail allowing clear differentiation of the situation in mountain areas in comparison to other parts of their countries, though many studies of specific regions and sectors have been undertaken, e.g., with regard to the Single Programming Documents for Objective 1 and 2 areas. The compilation, synthesis, and critical evaluation of such studies would be a useful contribution to policy debates given that comparable data for the mountains of the study area are unlikely to be available for some time at an adequately differentiated scale. Chapters 8 and 9 provide qualitative descriptions of current situations and trends with regard to mountain economies, based on information from the national reports. This initial economic characterisation of mountain areas is based on analyses both of the number of people employed in each sector and of unemployment patterns. As with the demographic data, analyses are of two types. The first consider both mountain areas in comparison to lowland areas and national averages: a series of graphs show the relative proportion of employment in each sector for the lowland and mountain parts of countries; for nations as a whole; and also for individual countries of the study area with mountains. Data are presented for all countries with mountains except for Greece and Cyprus. The second consider only mountain areas. All available data have been used in these analyses (see Annex 1). To provide a common basis for comparison, the maps in the three following sections present the deviation in the proportion of employment in each sector from the average for the study area: 4% in the primary sector (agriculture, forestry, fishing), 26% in the secondary sector (manufacturing, construction and mining), and 70% in the tertiary (service) sector. However, this approach may mean that characteristics identified for a particular massif reflect national characteristics (see Figure 6.1), rather than being specific to the massif. The data on which these maps are based are shown in Tables 6.1 and 6.2. Care should, of course, be taken with statements based on these data because of differences in national definitions. It should also be recognised that the number in employment varies in one massif greatly across the study area, from a few thousand to over a million in seven massifs: in Austria (Austrian Alps 1.62 million), Italy (northern Apennines 1.09 million, southern Apennines 1.07 million, Central Alps 1.05 million), Slovakia (Carpathians 1.03 million), Spain (Catalan range 1.13 million), and Switzerland (Mittelland 1.67 million). Large numbers of employed people are also found in some of the isolated mountain areas, in Germany (northern low mountains 1.66 million, southern low mountains 2.89 million), Hungary (Transdanubian mountains 1.44 million), and Spain (Madeira 1.03 million).


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Figure 6.1 Predominant economic sector in terms of employment by municipality


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Table 6.1. Proportion of employment per sector in massifs

Proportions of employment in

Mountain range Massif Country Primary Sector

Secondary Sector

Tertiary sector

Employed active

populationAlpine range Koszeg HU 3,0% 30,7% 66,3% 368

Alpine range Bavarian Alps DE 8,0% 33,6% 58,4% 225068

Alpine range Austrian Alps AT 5,9% 32,9% 61,2% 1615343

Alpine range North Slovenia Alps SI 4,6% 47,0% 48,4% 304616

Alpine range Swiss Alps CH 5,5% 28,0% 66,5% 882434

Alpine range Central Alps IT 2,8% 38,4% 58,9% 1049358

Alpine range Eastern Alps IT 4,9% 37,9% 57,2% 514167

Alpine range Western Alps IT 5,1% 33,3% 61,5% 349230

Alpine range Northern Alps FR 2,8% 21,9% 75,4% 790166

Alpine range Mediterranean Alps FR 3,6% 11,5% 85,0% 459927

Appennines Northern Appennines IT 6,4% 29,2% 64,4% 1088822

Appennines Central Appennines IT 5,2% 32,1% 62,8% 736169

Appennines Southern Appennines IT 12,1% 21,3% 66,5% 1068620

Balkans Stara Planina BG 10,6% 36,8% 52,6% 264389

Balkans Sredna Gora BG 6,9% 46,4% 46,7% 101710

Balkans Western mountains BG 0,7% 23,2% 76,0% 553579

Balkans Rodopi Planina BG 15,2% 37,7% 47,1% 324668

Balkans Rodopi GR n/a n/a n/a n/a

Balkans Olympos and Central Greece GR n/a n/a n/a n/a

Balkans Evia - Viotia - Attiki GR n/a n/a n/a n/a

Balkans Pindos GR n/a n/a n/a n/a

Basque Mountains Basque Mountains ES 1,4% 37,2% 61,4% 609078

Betic Systems Betic Systems ES 12,2% 27,1% 60,7% 1461364Black forest - Schwabian and Frankonian Alb Schwabian Alb (Swiss) CH 10,6% 30,8% 58,6% 2701Black forest - Schwabian and Frankonian Alb

Black forest - Schwabian and Frankonian Alb DE 4,6% 47,8% 47,6% 784657

Bohemian range Sumava - Cesky Les CZ 9,2% 50,4% 40,5% 57848

Bohemian range German Bohemian mountains DE 12,8% 42,1% 45,1% 120343

Bohemian range Austrian Bohemian mountains AT 20,6% 28,6% 50,8% 103953

Bothnian Arc Norrbotten SE 2,1% 22,7% 75,2% 80905

Bothnian Arc Vaesterbotten SE 5,6% 32,4% 62,0% 3858

Bothnian Arc Ostrobothnia and coastal hinterland FI 4,4% 32,4% 63,3% 131418

Bothnian Arc Aangermanland SE 3,1% 30,5% 66,3% 72715

Cantabrian Range Cantabrian Range ES 10,0% 31,2% 58,8% 292029

Carpathian range Polish Carpathian mountains PL 20,3% 29,7% 50,0% 513175


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Secondary Sector

Tertiary sector

Employed active

populationCarpathian range Czech Carpathian Mountains CZ 3,1% 54,8% 42,1% 136018

Carpathian range North Hungarian mountain areas HU 2,6% 26,4% 71,0% 59073

Carpathian range Slovak Carpathian mountains SK 6,8% 38,3% 54,9% 1029552

Carpathian range Eastern Romanian Carpathian mountains RO 0,8% 33,1% 66,1% 456910

Carpathian range Muntii Apuseni RO 0,9% 31,6% 67,5% 255287

Carpathian range Southern Romanian Carpathian mountains RO 1,2% 34,8% 63,9% 558617

Catalan Range Catalan Range ES 1,5% 40,3% 58,2% 1126432

Central Scandinavian mountain areas

Jamtland - Harjedalen - Dalarne SE 4,2% 20,3% 75,5% 52787

Central Scandinavian mountain areas Border area - Troendelag NO 0,5% 25,8% 73,7% 75563

Central System Cordilheira central PT 7,3% 35,3% 57,4% 176844

Central System Central System ES 3,5% 28,5% 68,1% 262931

Corsica Corsica FR 5,3% 7,1% 87,6% 64757

Crete Crete GR n/a n/a n/a n/a

Dinaric Mountains Italian Dinaric mountains IT 0,5% 18,1% 81,5% 87426

Dinaric Mountains Dinaric Mountains SI 5,2% 40,0% 54,8% 141526Galician-Portuguese Massif Galician Massif ES 15,7% 31,9% 52,4% 696878Galician-Portuguese Massif Macico Noroeste PT 8,4% 48,8% 42,9% 616523

Highlands and Islands Highlands and Islands UK 3,6% 35,7% 60,8% 187549

Iberic System Iberic System ES 14,0% 33,6% 52,5% 417623

Jura Swiss Jura CH 5,9% 35,3% 58,9% 180527

Jura French Jura FR 4,2% 31,2% 64,6% 249664

Massif Central Massif Central FR 8,4% 23,8% 67,9% 875908Mittelland - Upper Rhine Valley Upper Rhine Valley DE 3,4% 27,1% 69,5% 32405Mittelland - Upper Rhine Valley Upper Rhine valley DE 1,0% 77,2% 21,8% 6927Mittelland - Upper Rhine Valley Mittelland plateau CH 3,0% 24,1% 73,0% 1667202

Mountains of Sardinia Mountains of Sardinia IT 8,5% 24,8% 66,7% 163037

Mountains of Sicily Mountains of Sicily IT 9,5% 17,1% 73,5% 701161Northern English Mountains Northern English Mountains UK 2,4% 48,8% 48,9% 451868Northern Fennoscandia

Finnmark and northern Troms NO 0,8% 16,9% 82,3% 63545

Northern Fennoscandia Mountain Lapland FI 11,3% 9,0% 79,8% 3755Northern Fennoscandia Forest Lapland FI 5,8% 16,6% 77,7% 34674Northern Fennoscandia

Kainuu and Koillisma - Hill region FI 12,8% 22,9% 64,4% 58458

Northern Fennoscandia Nordland - Troms NO 0,7% 19,9% 79,4% 114927Northern Fennoscandia Lappland SE 3,0% 27,0% 70,0% 41478


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Secondary Sector

Tertiary sector

Employed active

populationOre mountains Czech Ore mountains CZ 1,7% 47,8% 50,5% 172581

Ore mountains German Ore mountains DE 6,7% 41,2% 52,2% 343104Peloponnesean mountains Peloponnesean mountains GR n/a n/a n/a 0

Pentadaktylos Pentadaktylos CY n/a n/a n/a 0

Pyrenees French Pyrenees FR 10,4% 15,8% 73,8% 123732

Pyrenees Spanish Pyrenees ES 4,7% 38,2% 57,1% 533548Rhenish Slate Mountains Belgian Ardennes BE 1,3% 25,6% 73,2% 19477Rhenish Slate Mountains Luxembourg Ardennes LU 7,0% 28,4% 64,7% 1649Rhenish Slate Mountains French Ardennes FR 0,9% 43,9% 55,2% 12079Rhenish Slate Mountains

Rhenish Slate Mountains (German part) DE 4,2% 41,3% 54,5% 643890

Rhenish Slate Mountains Northern Vosges FR 2,3% 36,6% 61,1% 3667

Sierra Morena Sierra Morena ES 20,8% 26,9% 52,4% 97992

Southern Scandinavian mountain areas

Jotunheimen - Rondane - Dovre NO 0,1% 26,4% 73,6% 46252

Southern Scandinavian mountain areas Vaermland SE 7,0% 22,3% 70,8% 5500

Southern Scandinavian mountain areas Oestland mountain areas NO 0,0% 17,3% 82,7% 598072

Southern Scandinavian mountain areas

Hardangervidda - Southern mountain areas NO 0,1% 28,1% 71,8% 59287

Southern Scandinavian mountain areas Coastal mountain areas NO 0,5% 28,1% 71,4% 320991

Sudetes German Sudetes DE 6,6% 33,0% 60,4% 8860

Sudetes Polish Sudetes PL n/a n/a n/a n/a

Sudetes Czech Sudetes CZ 4,5% 53,8% 41,7% 262008

Toledo Mountains Toledo Mountains ES 16,1% 29,1% 54,7% 105506Transmontano - Leonese Plateau Leon Mountains ES 4,5% 34,5% 61,1% 51592Transmontano - Leonese Plateau

planalto transmontano - Beirao PT 19,1% 27,3% 53,7% 90010

Troodos Troodos CY n/a n/a n/a n/a

Welsh Mountains Welsh Mountains UK 3,2% 49,8% 47,1% 356972

Vosges Vosges FR 3,7% 34,9% 61,5% 173732


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Table 6.2. Proportion of employment per sector in isolated mountain areas


Massif CountryPrimary Sector

Secondary Sector

Tertiary sector

Employed active

population Southern Uplands UK 7,9% 38,1% 54,0% 30501

Donegal mountains IE 10,8% 46,6% 42,7% 4870

Northern Ireland Mountains UK 2,6% 51,0% 46,4% 31134

Cumbria IE 22,6% 29,0% 48,3% 1877

Connacht mountains IE 23,7% 31,5% 44,8% 2070

Mourne Mountains (UK) UK 5,5% 58,5% 35,9% 8074

Mourne mountains (IE) IE 7,2% 41,9% 50,9% 2260

Slieve Bloom Mountains IE 31,3% 32,3% 36,3% 300

Wicklow IE 6,2% 26,4% 67,4% 9689

Waterford Mountains IE 23,1% 28,0% 48,9% 2067

Kerry mountains IE 21,3% 28,5% 50,3% 11379

Dartmoor and Exmoor UK 4,5% 45,7% 49,8% 37976 German low mountains, northern part DE 5,5% 37,9% 56,6% 165762

Brdy CZ 6,3% 47,6% 46,2% 22333 German low mountains, southern part DE 4,0% 38,2% 57,8% 289003

Moravian hills CZ 8,9% 55,2% 35,9% 46888

Acores - grupo ocidental PT 14,1% 25,8% 60,1% 1266

Transdanubian Mountains HU 1,6% 18,6% 79,8% 143923

Morvan FR 11,3% 21,6% 67,2% 12543

Muntii Macinului RO 18,6% 1,7% 79,7% 172

Cotes bourguignonnes FR 10,7% 18,0% 71,3% 16492

Mecsek HU 5,3% 20,7% 74,1% 52613

Acores - Grupo central PT 12,9% 25,0% 62,1% 35185

Acores - grupo oriental PT 15,4% 31,0% 53,5% 28524

Complexo estremenho PT 3,0% 34,0% 63,1% 51127

non-massif mountain areas PT 5,9% 24,2% 69,8% 12947

Balearic Islands ES 1,5% 25,8% 72,7% 39457

Serra Algarvia PT 8,3% 27,3% 64,4% 7962

Aegian island mountains GR n/a n/a n/a n/a

ilha da Madeira PT 8,6% 25,4% 66,1% 103420

Canary Islands ES n/a n/a n/a n/a 6.1 Primary sector Figure 6.2 shows a very clear difference between the EU Member States and the acceding and candidate countries when it comes to employment in the primary sector. In all of the former, as well as Norway and Switzerland, employment in this sector is proportionately higher in mountain than lowland areas. In three countries, the mountain proportion is more than twice that in the lowlands: Ireland (mountain 15.1%, lowland 6.9%), Portugal (9.1%, 3.7%), and Luxembourg (7.0%, 1.7%). In four others, the mountain proportion is at least 50 % higher than in the lowlands:


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Finland (6,9%, 4.5%), Spain (8.3%, 5.2%), Sweden (3.1%, 1.9%), and the UK (3.1%, 1.6%). In contrast, in all acceding and candidate countries except for Slovakia (3.1%, 1.6%), agricultural employment is proportionately higher in lowland areas. The predominance of agriculture in Poland is clear, but the proportion employed in the primary sector in the mountains (20.3%) is much less in the lowlands (29.3%) where most farmers live. Figure 6.2. Proportion of employment in the primary sector by area (purple=lowland, burgundy=mountain, cream=national)

Primary sector

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

Figure 6.3 shows the proportion of employment in the primary sector relative to the study area average. Particularly because this average is a rather small proportion of total employment (4%), some of the deviations are rather large. The largest number of massifs with a very high proportion of employment in this sector are in the Iberian peninsula, where the proportion is often over 10%, reaching 20.8% in the Sierra Morena (Spain) and 19.1% in the Transmontano-Leonese Plateau of Portugal. Elsewhere in the EU15, proportions are high in Ireland (most over 20%), the Bohemian mountains of Austria (20.6%) and Germany (12.8%), the French Pyrenees (10.4%) and Massif Central (8.4%), as well as the Azores (13-15%). In the acceding and candidate countries of the study area, the highest proportion in any massif is for the Polish Carpathians (20.3%); in Bulgaria, the proportions are particularly high in the Rodopi Planina (15.2%) and Stara Planina (10.6%). Proportions are also at least double the study area average in Sumava and the isolated massifs of the Czech Republic. Conversely, rather low proportions in primary employment are also found in most of the same countries: the Basque and Catalan ranges and Balearic islands of Spain, the western mountains of Bulgaria, and the Ore mountains and White Carpathians of the Czech Republic. Rather low proportions are also found in most of the Hungarian mountains. Finally, the Nordic countries have both high proportions in Finland (up to 12.8% in the Kiainuu and Koillisma-Hill region) and very low proportions for all of Norway (under 0.8%). This great diversity of situations clearly underlines the need for region-specific policies for mountain agriculture and forestry within broader national policy contexts.


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Figure 6.3. Employment in the primary sector relative to study area average


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6.2 Secondary sector Figure 6.4 shows that, across the 12 EU Member States, the proportion of employment in the secondary sector is similar in mountain and lowland areas. In most individual countries, this is also true. However, there are four countries with notable differences, and in all of these, the proportion of employment in mountain areas is higher: Germany (41.8%, 32.7%), Portugal (40.4%, 33.4%), Austria (mountain 32.6%, lowland, 26.6%), and Luxembourg (28.4%, 20.5%). In the seven acceding and candidate countries, the proportion of employment in the secondary sector is notably higher in mountain areas (39.5%) than in lowland areas (28.4%). All but one of these countries exhibits the same pattern, most notably Slovenia (mountain 44.8%, lowland 29.7%) and the Czech Republic (52.1%, 41.6%). However, in Hungary, the pattern is reversed (20.9%, 27.2%). Figure 6.4. Proportion of employment in the secondary sector by area (purple=lowland, burgundy=mountain, cream=national)

Secondary sector

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

EU15 (w

ithoutN

L,GR

, DK)

Austria

Belgium

Finland

France

Germ

any

Ireland

Italy

Luxembourg

Portugal

Spain

Sweden

UK

ACC

10 (without EE,

LT, LV, MT)

Bulgaria

Czech R

ep

Hungary

Poland

Rom

ania

Slovakia

Slovenia

Norw

ay

Switzerland

In contrast to the primary sector, a smaller number of massifs depart very significantly from the study area average (Figure 6.5). The mountains of the Czech Republic have very high proportions of employment in the secondary sector (47.6-55.2%), as do those of the UK apart from Scotland (45.7-58.5%), Slovenia (Alps 47.0%, Dinaric mountains 40.0%), Slovakia (38.3%) and Bulgaria (36.8-46.4%, except for the western mountains). Other highly industrialised massifs include the German Black Forest (47.8%), the Italian central Alps (38.4%) and others in Portugal (Macico noroeste, 48.8%) and Spain (Catalan range 40.3%, Pyrenees 38.2%). Conversely, the massifs with the lowest proportions of employment in this sector are found in northern Fennoscandia (Mountain Lapland and Forest Lapland in Finland 9.0% and 16.6%; Finnmark and Nordland- Troms, Norway, 16.9%), and in southern France (Pyrenees 15.8%, Mediterranean Alps 11.5%, Corsica 7.1%). Again, these trends reflect a great diversity of situations, and particularly the extent to which large cities with major industrial capacity are included in areas defined as mountainous in this study.


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Figure 6.5. Employment in secondary sector relative to study area average


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6.3 Tertiary sector The tertiary sector accounts for the greatest proportion of employment in all the countries of the study area; only in the Czech Republic is the relative proportion in mountain areas below 50%. Figure 6.6 shows that, in nearly all of the EU Member States, relative employment in the tertiary sector is lower in mountain than in lowland areas, particularly in Portugal (mountain 50.4%, lowland 62.9%), Luxembourg (64.6%, 77.8%), Ireland (53.4%, 64.1%), and Germany (52.5%, 63.3%). The only Member State where the relative proportion in mountain areas is higher is Italy (64.2%, 62.8%); this is also true in Norway (78.2%, 74.1%). In the acceding and candidate countries, the patterns vary. In four, the proportion in mountain areas is lower, with particularly large differences in Slovenia (mountain 50.4%, lowland 64.2%) and the Czech Republic (43.6%, 53.8%). Conversely, the proportion in mountain areas is higher in three countries, with the greatest difference in Hungary (76.6%, 68.8%), the acceding country with the greatest national proportion of tertiary employment. Figure 6.6. Proportion of employment in the tertiary sector by area (purple=lowland, burgundy=mountain, cream=national)

Tertiary sector

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

EU15 (w

ithoutN

L,GR

, DK)

Austria

Belgium

Finland

France

Germ

any

Ireland

Italy

Luxembourg

Portugal

Spain

Sweden

UK

ACC

10 (without EE,

LT, LV, MT)

Bulgaria

Czech R

ep

Hungary

Poland

Rom

ania

Slovakia

Slovenia

Norw

ay

Switzerland

Given the dominance of this sector across the study area, deviations in individual massifs are generally smaller than for the other two sectors (Figure 6.7). Proportions are higher than average for the study area across most of the Nordic countries: as high as 82.7% in Oestland (Norway) and just below 80% in Mountain Lapland (Finland) and Nordland-Troms (Norway). In contrast to the secondary sector, proportions are high in southern France, especially the Mediterranean Alps (85 %) and Corsica (87.6 %). For most of the massifs, however, employment in services is lower than the average for the study area, counting for no more than half of total employment in a number of diverse areas including most of the mountains of Ireland (35.9-50.9%); the mountains of the Czech Republic (35.9-50.5%) and the adjacent German Bohemian mountains (45.1%); the Macico Noroeste (Portugal (42.9 %); the German Black Forest (47.6%); the Slovenian Alps (48.4 %); the mountains of Wales (47.1%) and northern England (48.9%); the Polish Carpathians (50.0%); and much of Bulgaria (around 50% except for the western mountains).


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Figure 6.7. Employment in tertiary sector relative to study area average


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6.4 Overall structure of employment With regard to the overall structure of employment, Figure 6.8 shows a complex pattern. High proportions of service activity correspond to both economically prosperous mountain areas (e.g., French Northern Alps, Swiss Mittelland) and declining areas, where public service provision is the main remaining activity (e.g., northern Norway). Many mountain areas in all parts of Europe (Hardangervidda and the southern mountains of Norway, northern England, Wales, the Czech Sudetes, the Black Forest of Germany, Catalunya and the Basque Country in Spain) still have a relatively high share of employment in the secondary sector. Mountain areas with a dominant primary profile are, on the other hand, concentrated in southern Europe (e.g., Bulgaria, Spain, French Pyrenees and Massif Central, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily and southern Italy), as well as in Poland, a country whose economy has an unusually high level of employment in this sector. One can therefore identify some significant economic profiles at massif level. However, the potential for development based on this profile largely depends on the proximity of an urban network and on the presence of a satisfactory local service provision. These aspects are explored in Chapters 7 and 10. 6.5 Patterns of unemployment To complement the analyses of employment, unemployment rates in massifs were calculated and compared to national rates of unemployment. The data used were not official unemployment rates, but employed population per sector. The results are shown in Figure 6.9. As with patterns of employment, patterns of unemployment are complex across the study area; though it is notable that relative levels of unemployment are high in the most peripheral areas: the northern parts of the Nordic countries, Scotland and Northern Ireland in the UK, the southern ranges of Spain, Corsica, and southern Italy and Sicily. Conversely, the lowest rates are generally in massifs near or including major urban industrial centres, for instance in the Oestland mountain areas of Norway, the mountains of England and Wales, the Black Forest of Germany, the northern Apennines of Italy, and along the northern and southern edges of the Alps in France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland. However, there some exceptions to this general trend, notably in the low mountains of Germany, the Belgian Ardennes, and the Ore Mountains of the Czech Republic and Germany, all of which have relatively high unemployment.


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Figure 6.8. Classification of massifs according to the over- or under-representation of economic sectors


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Figure 6.9. Proportion of unemployed per massif compared to national values


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